KHYBER
The All Torkham Clearing Agents Association urged the government to immediately resume the Torkham border for trade, warning that the prolonged closure had severely affected cross-border commerce, livelihoods of local people.
Addressing a press conference at the District Khyber Press Club in Landi Kotal on Thursday, the Association President Mujeeb Shinwari flanked by head of Torkham transport union Azeemullah and others said that clearing agents and traders had endured financial losses over the past nine months in the national interest, but the situation had now become unbearable.
Torkham border is a vital trade gateway for Pakistan, and its repeated closure has disrupted the business of importers, exporters, clearing agents, transporters, and thousands of workers who depend on cross-border trade, he said.
He claimed that the border generated approximately $2.5 million per day export-related revenue and around Rs 540 million from imports, making its continued closure a significant setback for the country’s economy.
Nearly 90 percent of the local economy in the Torkham area was directly linked to border trade, he added and said thousands of transporters, property owners, daily wage laborers, and small shopkeepers had been deprived of earning three times meal for their families.
While presenting their demands he called on the provincial and federal governments to (1) immediately reopen the border for commercial activities, (2) announce a relief package for affected traders, and (3) compensate more than 40 clearing agents whose offices were damaged during clashes at the border.
Shinwari warned that if the authorities failed to address their demands, the association, in consultation with local elders and political representatives, would launch an indefinite sit-in protest.
At the end the participants expressed their grief over the sad demise of the Senator Taj Muhammad Afridi and offered prayers for the departed soul.
